St. Lawrence River

The St. Lawrence River (French: Fleuve Saint-Laurent) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, traversing Ontario and Quebec in Canada and New York in the United States. A section of the river demarcates the Canada–U.S. border.

St. Lawrence River Saint Lawrence River
Montréal-Est, Quebec
Great Lakes/St. Lawrence watershed
Etymology	Saint Lawrence of Rome
Location
Country	Canada, United States
Provinces	Ontario, Quebec
State	New York
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake Ontario
• location	Kingston, Ontario / Cape Vincent, New York
• coordinates	44°06′N 76°24′W
• elevation	74.7 m (245 ft)
Mouth	Gulf of St. Lawrence / Atlantic Ocean
• location	Quebec, Canada
• coordinates	49°30′N 64°30′W
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	500 km (310 mi) excluding the estuary. C. 928 km if included. (St. Lawrence River–Lake Ontario–Niagara–Lake Erie–Detroit–Lake St. Clair–St. Clair–Lake Huron–St. Marys River–Lake Superior–St. Louis–North River: 3,058 km)[1][2]
Basin size	1,344,200 km2 (519,000 sq mi)[3] (Pointe-des-Monts: 1,271,547.4 km2)[4]
Width
• average	1–5 km (0.62–3.11 mi)[5]
Depth
• minimum	2 m (6 ft 7 in) (Fluvial Section)[5]
• maximum	60 m (200 ft) (Quebec City)[5]
Discharge
• location	Pointe-des-Monts
• average	(Period: 1969–2023)17,600 m3/s (620,000 cu ft/s)[6]
• minimum	10,478 m3/s (370,000 cu ft/s)[6]
• maximum	33,085 m3/s (1,168,400 cu ft/s)[6]
Discharge
• location	Tadoussac
• average	(Period: 1962–1988)16,800 m3/s (590,000 cu ft/s)[7]
Discharge
• location	Quebec City
• average	(Period: 1968–2023)12,500 m3/s (440,000 cu ft/s)[6]
• minimum	8,600 m3/s (300,000 cu ft/s)[6]
• maximum	22,766 m3/s (804,000 cu ft/s)[6]
Discharge
• location	Montreal
• average	(Period: 1971–2000)10,063.3 m3/s (355,380 cu ft/s)[4]
Discharge
• location	Cornwall
• average	(1861–2019)7,060 m3/s (249,000 cu ft/s)[6]
Basin features
Progression	Gulf of St. Lawrence
River system	St. Lawrence River

v t e St. Lawrence River
Legend
Lake Ontario Wolfe Island Carleton Island Howe Island Grindstone Island Calumet Island Sugar Island Murray Isle Wellesley Island Ash Island Hill Island Thousand Islands Bridge Lake of the Isles Longue Vue Island Just Room Enough Island Heart Island Club Island Deer Island Zavikon Island Grenadier Island Tar Island Ironsides Island Oak Island Dark Island Oswegatchie River Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge Iroquois Lock Iroquois Dam Wiley-Dondero Canal Barnhart Island Long Sault Dam Eisenhower Lock Tunnel Eisenhower Lock Barnhart Island Bridge Moses-Saunders Power Dam Snell Lock Grasse River Galop Island Cornwall Island Seaway International Bridge Raquette River US CA St. Regis River Raisin River ON QC Lake Saint Francis Beauharnois Canal Grande-Île Saint Charles River Île-de-Salaberry Coteau Railway Bridge Monseigneur Langlois Bridge Larocque Bridge Île aux Vaches Barrage Juillet Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague Bridge Barrage Saint-Timothy Baie Bayard Centrale des Cèdres Serge-Marcil Bridge Barrage de la Pointe-du-Buisson Barrage de Pointe-des-Cascades Madeleine-Parent Bridge Pied-du-Canal Bridge Beauharnois Lock (upper) Beauharnois Generating Station Boulevard Edgar Hébert Bridge Beauharnois Lock (lower) Ottawa River Lake Saint-Louis Châteauguay River St. Lawrence Seaway Lachine Canal Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge Honoré Mercier Bridge Lachine Rapids Heron Island Côte Sainte Catherine Lock Champlain Bridge Ice Structure Champlain Bridge (under demolition) Samuel De Champlain Bridge Saint–Lambert Lock Victoria Bridge Notre Dame Island Saint Helen's Island Pont de la Concorde Lachine Canal Pont du Cosmos Montreal Metro Yellow Line Jacques Cartier Bridge Minirail Charron Island Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel Sainte-Thérèse Island Rivière des Prairies Île Bouchard Sorel-Tracy–Berthierville Ferry Richelieu River Île de Grâce Maskinongé River Yamaska River Saint-François River Lake Saint Pierre Nicolet River Laviolette Bridge Saint-Maurice River Champlain River Batiscan River Sainte-Anne River Rivière du Moulin Portneuf River Jacques-Cartier River Rivière des Roches Charland River Rivière du Cap Rouge Pierre Laporte Bridge Quebec Bridge Lévis–Quebec City Ferry Saint-Charles River Île d'Orléans Île d'Orléans Bridge Boyer River Rivière des Mères Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River Isle-aux-Grues Île aux Coudres Malbaie River Rivière-du-Loup–Saint-Siméon Ferry Île aux Lièvres Verte Island L'Isle-Verte– Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs Ferry Saguenay River Trois Pistoles–Les Escoumins Ferry Île du Bic Rimouski River Rimouski–Forestville Ferry Rivière aux Outardes Tartigou River Manicouagan River Matane–Baie-Comeau Ferry Matane–Godbout Ferry Matane–Sept-Îles Ferry Matane River St. Lawrence Estuary Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic Ocean

As the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin, the St. Lawrence has the second-highest discharge of any river in North America (after the Mississippi River) and the 16th-highest in the world. The estuary of St. Lawrence is often cited by scientists as the largest in the world. Significant natural landmarks of the river and estuary include the 1,864 river islands of the Thousand Islands, the endangered whales of Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, and the limestone monoliths of the Mingan Archipelago.

Long a transportation route to Indigenous peoples, the St. Lawrence River has played a key role in the history of Canada and in the development of cities such as Montreal and Quebec City. The river remains an important shipping route as the backbone of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a lock and canal system that enables world marine traffic to access the inland ports of the Great Lakes Waterway.

Etymology

The river has been called a variety of names by local First Nations. Beginning in the 16th century, French explorers visited what is now Canada and gave the river names such as the Grand fleuve de Hochelaga and the Grande rivière du Canada,^[8] where fleuve and rivière are two French words (fleuve being a river that flows into the sea).

The river's present name has been used since 1604 when it was recorded on a map by Samuel de Champlain^[8] Champlain opted for the names Grande riviere de sainct Laurens and Fleuve sainct Laurens in his writings, supplanting the earlier names.^[8] In contemporary French, the name is rendered as the fleuve Saint-Laurent. The name Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence) was originally applied to the eponymous bay by Jacques Cartier upon his arrival into the region on the 10th of August feast day for Saint Lawrence in 1535.^[8]

Today, the river is still known by Indigenous nations by a number of distinct names. Innu-aimun, the language of Nitassinan, refers to it as Wepistukujaw Sipo/Wepìstùkwiyaht sīpu;^[8][9] the Abenaki call it Moliantegok/Moliantekw ("Montréal River"),^[8] Kchitegw/Ktsitekw/Gicitegw ("Great River"),^[9] or Oss8genaizibo/Ws8genaisibo/Wsogenaisibo ("River of the Algonquins");^[9] the Mohawk refer to it in Kanienʼkéha as Roiatatokenti, Raoteniateara,^[8] Ken’tarókwen,^[10] or Kaniatarowanénhne;^[11] the Tuscarora call it Kahnawáˀkye or Kaniatarowanenneh ("Big Water Current");^[12] the Algonquins (or Omàmiwininiwak) call it "the Walking Path" or Magtogoek^[8][13] or Kitcikanii sipi, the "Large Water River";^[9][14] the Huron-Wendats refer to it as Lada8anna or Laooendaooena;^[9] and, the Atikamekw of Nitaskinan refer to it as Micta sipi ("Huge River").

Geography

Boats of the Transat Québec–Saint-Malo on the St. Lawrence River in 2000

Cross commemorating the one laid by Jacques-Cartier on October 7, 1535, Trois-Rivières

The Champlain Sea

Marine weather

In winter, the St. Lawrence River begins producing ice in December, with the formation of ice cubes between Montreal and Quebec City. The prevailing winds and currents push this ice towards the estuary,^[15] and it reaches the east of Les Méchins at the end of December. Ice covers the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence in January and February.

Ice helps navigation by preventing the formation of waves, and therefore spray, and prevents the icing of ships.^[16]

Watershed

With the draining of the Champlain Sea, due to a rebounding continent from the Last Glacial Maximum, the St. Lawrence River was formed. The Champlain Sea lasted from about 13,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago and was continuously shrinking during that time, a process that continues today.^[17][18] The head of the St. Lawrence River, near Lake Ontario, is home to the Thousand Islands.^[19]

Today, the St. Lawrence River begins at the outflow of Lake Ontario and flows adjacent to Gananoque, Brockville, Morristown, Ogdensburg, Massena, Cornwall, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City before draining into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, often given as the largest estuary in the world.^[20] The estuary begins at the eastern tip of Île d'Orléans, just downstream from Quebec City.^[7] The river becomes tidal around Quebec City.^[21]

The St. Lawrence River runs 3,058 kilometres (1,900 mi) from the farthest headwater to the mouth and 1,197 km (743.8 mi) from the outflow of Lake Ontario. These numbers include the estuary; without the estuary, the length from Lake Ontario is c. 500 km (c. 300 mi). The farthest headwater is the North River in the Mesabi Range at Hibbing, Minnesota. Its drainage area, which includes the Great Lakes, the world's largest system of freshwater lakes, is 1,344,200 square kilometres (518,998.5 sq mi), of which 839,200 km² (324,016.9 sq mi) is in Canada and 505,000 km² (194,981.6 sq mi) is in the United States. The basin covers parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and nearly the entirety of the state of Michigan in the United States. The average discharge below the Saguenay River is 16,800 cubic metres per second (590,000 cu ft/s). At Quebec City, it is 12,101 m³/s (427,300 cu ft/s). The average discharge at the river's source, the outflow of Lake Ontario, is 7,410 m³/s (262,000 cu ft/s).^[7]

The St. Lawrence River includes Lake Saint Francis at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Lake Saint-Louis south of Montreal and Lake Saint Pierre east of Montreal. It encompasses four archipelagoes: the Thousand Islands chain near Alexandria Bay, New York and Kingston, Ontario; the Hochelaga Archipelago, including the Island of Montreal and Île Jésus (Laval); the Lake St. Pierre Archipelago (classified a biosphere world reserve by the UNESCO in 2000)^[22] and the smaller Mingan Archipelago. Other islands include Île d'Orléans near Quebec City and Anticosti Island north of the Gaspé. It is the second longest river in Canada.

Lake Champlain and the Ottawa, Richelieu, Saint-Maurice, Saint-François, Chaudière and Saguenay rivers drain into the St. Lawrence.

The St. Lawrence River is in a seismically active zone where fault reactivation is believed to occur along late Proterozoic to early Paleozoic normal faults related to the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. The faults in the area are rift-related and comprise the Saint Lawrence rift system.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the St. Lawrence Valley is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division, containing the Champlain section.^[23] However, in Canada, where most of the valley is, it is instead considered part of a distinct St. Lawrence Lowlands physiographic division, and not part of the Appalachian division at all.^[24]

Sources

The source of the North River in the Mesabi Range in Minnesota (Seven Beaver Lake) is considered to be the source of the St. Lawrence River. Because it crosses so many lakes, the water system frequently changes its name. From source to mouth, the names are:

• North River^[25]
• Saint Louis River^[26]
• Lake Superior
• St. Marys River
• Lake Huron
• St. Clair River
• Lake St. Clair
• Detroit River
• Lake Erie
• Niagara River
• Lake Ontario

The St. Lawrence River also passes through Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Pierre in Quebec.

Looking downstream: Quebec City (left), St. Lawrence River, Île d'Orléans (center), Lévis (right), Laurentian Mountains (background).

Tributaries

The St. Lawrence River and the largest tributaries of the Great Lakes.

The St. Lawrence River tributaries are listed upstream from the mouth. The major tributaries of the inter-lake sections are also shown, as well as the major rivers that flow into the Great Lakes. Great Lakes tributaries are listed in alphabetical order.

The list includes all tributaries with a drainage area of at least 1,000 square kilometres and an average flow of more than 10 cubic metres per second.

Left tributary	Right tributary	Length (km)	Basin size (km2)	Average discharge (m3/s)
St. Lawrence River
Godbout		112	1,930.1	44.4
Frankquelin		67.5	582.9	12.1
Manicouagan		221	45,908	1,020
Outardes		499	19,057	400
	Mitis	51	1,806.4	37
Betsiamites		444	18,984.1	366.7
Laval		42	641.6	13
Rivière du Sault aux Cochons		128	1,946	38.7
	Rimouski	119.2	1,635	30.8
Portneuf		55	2,457.6	52.3
Rivière des Escoumins		84	810.5	17.5
	Rivière des Trois-Pistoles	43	966	18.4
	Verte		507.9	10.2
Saguenay		170	87,635.4	1,893.9
	Rivière du Loup	101.3	1,059	18.5
Malbaie		161	1,861.1	39.1
	Rivière-Ouelle	73.4	850.6	16.8
Rivière du Gouffre		76.1	1,010.1	23.5
	Montmagny (Rivière du Sud)	86.5	1,994.6	46.7
Sainte-Anne		97	1,077	31.5
Montmorency		103.7	1,157.6	35.6
Saint-Charles		25	483.4	13.6
	Etchemin	124	1,443.4	34.5
	Chaudière	185	6,682	146.4
Jacques-Cartier		178	2,515	71.3
	Rivière du Chêne	80.6	855.9	21.1
Sainte-Anne		123	2,753.3	73.4
Batiscan		196	4,690	107.1
	Bécancour	210	2,607	63.2
Saint-Maurice		563	41,994.3	730
	Nicolet	137	3,380	77.8
Rivière du Loup		102	1,642.9	27.8
	Saint François	218	10,230	237.8
	Yamaska	160	4,784	110.1
Maskinongé		40	1,205.7	21.3
	Richelieu	124	23,717.7	455.8
L'Assomption		200	4,220	78.6
Ottawa		1,271	147,405.8	1,948.8
Châteauguay		121	2,466.7	43.8
	Rivière aux Saumons	70.6	1,065.2	20.2
	St. Regis River	138	2,219.6	44
	Raquette	235	3,250	74.4
	Grasse	117	1,657.9	32.9
	Oswegatchie	220	4,120	88.3
Gananoque			909.5	12.2
Niagara
	Tonawanda Creek	140	1,700	27.2
Detroit
	Rouge	204	1,580	10.7
St. Clair River
Sydenham		165	2,727.6	14.3
	Belle	118.3	556.4	4.4
	Black	130.4	1,821.9	9.2
Great Lakes
Lake Ontario
Black		201	4,964.8	159.5
Credit		90	1,000	8.1
Genesee		253	6,507.7	107.5
Humber		100	1,008.4	7.5
Moira		98	2,736	32.6
Napanee		60	1,099.2	12.6
Niagara		58	682,350.9	5,885
Oak Orchard		95.2	804.3	13
Oswego		38	13,266	255
Salmon		135	1,534	18.2
Salmon		71	820.5	21.9
Sandy Creek		53	501.9	11
Trent		90	13,014.7	154.6
Welland		140	1,136.4	8.7
Lake Erie
Black		68	1,217	9.8
Buffalo		13	1,186.4	17.4
Cattaraugus Creek		109	1,510.1	24
Cuyahoga		136.6	2,377.6	29
Detroit		45	595,052	5,300
Grand		280	6,763.8	45
Grand		165.3	1,873.6	23.8
Huron		210	2,145.2	20.4
Huron		24	1,055.6	8.8
Maumee		220	16,460	164.1
Portage		66.8	1,574.6	11.3
Raisin		224	2,780	22.8
Sandusky		214	3,262.1	26.1
Lake St. Clair
Clinton		134	1,970.9	19.8
St. Clair River		65.2	583,508.7	5,200
Thames		273	5,825	52.9
Lake Huron
Au Gres		75.2	1,262	7.2
Au Sable		222	5,468.5	36.4
Ausable		64	1,142	8.1
Cheboygan		61	3,880.1	32.5
French		110	19,100	207
Garden			1,061.7	14.6
Magnetawan		175	3,041.9	24.7
Maitland		150	2,592	21.4
Mississagi		266	9,270	118
Musquash		29	4,591.7	43.7
Nottawasaga		120	3,082.4	18.8
Saginaw–Shiawassee		216	15,525.6	136.7
St. Marys River		119.9	211,833.3	2,135
Sauble			1,109.7	7.6
Saugeen		160	4,120	81.8
Seguin		40	1,023	9.7
Serpent			1,495	10.2
Severn		30	6,039.2	56.9
Spanish		338	13,368.3	150
Thessalon			1,125.4	8.3
Thunder Bay		121.3	3,382.1	19.2
Whitefish			1,318.9	7.2
Lake Michigan
Burns Waterway		35.6	1,033.2	8.9
Calumet		66	1,183.8	10
Cedar		108	1,158.3	6.9
Elk		121	1,379.5	12.5
Escanaba		84	2,390	28.1
Ford		174	1,414.7	10.7
Fox		320	16,650	143.8
Grand		406	15,206.6	143
Kalamazoo		210	5,230	52.8
Manistee		310	4,600	47.5
Manistique		114.6	3,780	52.7
Manitowac		57.6	1,552.4	10.6
Menomonee		187	10,569	99.6
Milwaukee		167	2,271.5	17.1
Muskegon		348	7,029.8	60.8
Oconto		91.6	2,474.9	19.8
Pere Marquette		102.8	2,074.6	18
Peshtigo		219	2,856.3	21.9
Shebaygan		130	1,226	8.8
St. Joseph River		340	12,130	142.2
White		38	1,458	13
Lake Superior
Agawa		102	1,057.8	29.1
Aguasabon		70	964.3	16.8
Bad		119.6	2,659.8	44.7
Batchawana		95	1,396.1	36.7
Black		66.1	724.3	15.1
Black Sturgeon		72	2,815.6	43.1
Brule		65	699.7	10
Chipewa		40	920.9	22.4
Dog		50.9	1,333.5	28
Goulais		70	2,071	42.1
Gravel			700.1	12.1
Kaministiquia		95	7,903.1	99.4
Little Pic			1,459.1	21
Magpie–Michipicoten		81	7,446.7	145.8
Montreal		130	3,452	84
Montreal		76.9	861.9	12.8
Nemadji		113.9	1,158.4	18.6
Nipigon		48	25,645.4	383.6
Old Woman			558.8	10.9
Ontonagon		40	3,720.2	75.8
Pic		188	6,430	109.9
Pigeon		80	1,610.6	25.1
Presque Isle		67.8	1,088.9	20.3
Pukaskwa		80	1,308.3	24.6
Saint Louis		309	9,410	146.7
Sand		56	537.7	13
Steel		170	1,298.8	18.3
Sturgeon		171	1,892.2	43.1
Tahquamenon		143.4	2,258	46.3
Two Hearted		38	575	11.7
White		140	5,228.3	95.7
Wolf			650.2	10
Source [4]

Discharge

Year	Average discharge[6]
	Quebec City	Pointe-des-Monts
2007	10,967 m3/s (387,300 cu ft/s)	16,600 m3/s (590,000 cu ft/s)
2008	12,550 m3/s (443,000 cu ft/s)	18,100 m3/s (640,000 cu ft/s)
2009	12,166 m3/s (429,600 cu ft/s)	17,227 m3/s (608,400 cu ft/s)
2010	11,691 m3/s (412,900 cu ft/s)	16,187 m3/s (571,600 cu ft/s)
2011	13,221 m3/s (466,900 cu ft/s)	18,616 m3/s (657,400 cu ft/s)
2012	11,291 m3/s (398,700 cu ft/s)	16,704 m3/s (589,900 cu ft/s)
2013	12,090 m3/s (427,000 cu ft/s)	17,098 m3/s (603,800 cu ft/s)
2014	12,563 m3/s (443,700 cu ft/s)	18,059 m3/s (637,700 cu ft/s)
2015	11,425 m3/s (403,500 cu ft/s)	17,310 m3/s (611,000 cu ft/s)
2016	12,411 m3/s (438,300 cu ft/s)	17,563 m3/s (620,200 cu ft/s)
2017	14,309 m3/s (505,300 cu ft/s)	19,213 m3/s (678,500 cu ft/s)
2018	13,220 m3/s (467,000 cu ft/s)	16,884 m3/s (596,300 cu ft/s)
2019	15,154 m3/s (535,200 cu ft/s)	21,004 m3/s (741,700 cu ft/s)
2020	14,113 m3/s (498,400 cu ft/s)	18,996 m3/s (670,800 cu ft/s)
2021	11,344 m3/s (400,600 cu ft/s)	16,093 m3/s (568,300 cu ft/s)
2022	13,135 m3/s (463,900 cu ft/s)	17,902 m3/s (632,200 cu ft/s)
2023	13,560 m3/s (479,000 cu ft/s)	18,799 m3/s (663,900 cu ft/s)

Biodiversity

The diversity of the St. Lawrence River includes:^[27]

• 19 species of marine mammals
• More than 230 species of birds
• Nearly 35 species of amphibians and reptiles
• 200 species of freshwater and aquatic fish salty (including 19 sharks and rays)
• 2200 invertebrates in the estuary and its gulf (sponges, jellyfish, corals, crustaceans, etc.)
• Nearly 2000 vascular plants^[28]

Marine mammals

fin whales off Tadoussac

Large marine mammals travel in all the seas of the earth, the research and observations of these giants concern fishermen and shipping industry, exercise a fascination and a keen interest for laymen and, subjects of endless studies for scientists from Quebec, Canada and around the world.^[29][30][31]

Thirteen species of cetaceans frequent the waters of the estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence:^[32]

1. Northern bottlenose whale
2. Delphinapterus leucas (Beluga Whale)^[33][34]
3. Sperm whale
4. Atlantic white-sided dolphin
5. White-beaked dolphin
6. Orca
7. Long-finned pilot whale
8. Phocoena phocoena (Harbour Porpoise)
9. North Atlantic right whale^[35]
10. Common minke whale
11. Blue whale^[36]
12. Humpback whale
13. Fin whale

History

Map of 1543 showing Cartier's discoveries

Basque settlements and sites dating from the 16th and 17th centuries

Watercolour (c. 1792) by Elizabeth Simcoe depicting a bend in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec

First Nations

Flowing through and adjacent to numerous Indigenous homelands, the river was a primary thoroughfare for many peoples. Beginning in Dawnland at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the river borders Mi'kma'ki^[37] in the South (what is today known as the Canadian Maritimes), and Nitassinan in the North, the national territory of the Innu people.^[38] On the south shore beyond the Mi'kmaw district of Gespe'gewa'ki,^[37] the river passes Wolastokuk (the Maliseet homeland), Pαnawαhpskewahki (the Penobscot homeland), and Ndakinna (the Abenaki homeland).^[39] Continuing, the river passes through the former country of the St. Lawrence Iroquois and then three of the six homelands of the Haudenosaunee: the Mohawk or Kanienʼkehá꞉ka, the Oneida or Onyota'a:ka, and the Onondaga or Onöñda’gaga’.^[39]

In the early 17th century, the Huron-Wendat Nation migrated from their original country of Huronia to what is now known as Nionwentsïo centred around Wendake.^[40][41] Nionwentsïo occupies both the north and south shores of the river,^[40] overlapping with Nitassinan and the more western Wabanaki or Dawnland countries.^[39] Adjacent on the north shore is the Atikamekw territorial homeland of Nitaskinan^[42][43] and, upstream, the further reaches of Anishinaabewaki, specifically the homelands of the Algonquin and Mississauga Nations.^[39]

European exploration

The Norse explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 11th century and were followed by fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century European mariners, such as John Cabot, and the brothers Gaspar and Miguel Corte-Real. The first European explorer known to have sailed up the St. Lawrence River itself was Jacques Cartier. At that time, the land along the river described as "about two leagues, a mountain as tall as a heap of wheat" was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. During Cartier's second voyage in 1535, because Cartier arrived in the estuary on Saint Lawrence's feast day 10 August, he named it the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.^{[44] [45]}

The St. Lawrence River is today partly within the U.S. and as such is that country's sixth oldest surviving European place-name.^[46]

Early colonists

The earliest regular Europeans in the area were the Basques, who came to the St Lawrence Gulf and River in pursuit of whales from the early 16th century. The Basque whalers and fishermen traded with indigenous Americans and set up settlements, leaving vestiges all over the coast of eastern Canada and deep into the St. Lawrence River. Basque commercial and fishing activity reached its peak before the Armada Invencible's disaster (1588), when the Basque whaling fleet was confiscated by King Philip II of Spain. Initially, the whaling galleons from Labourd were not affected by the Spanish defeat.

Until the early 17th century, the French used the name Rivière du Canada to designate the St. Lawrence upstream to Montreal and the Ottawa River after Montreal. The St. Lawrence River served as the main route for European exploration of the North American interior, first pioneered by French explorer Samuel de Champlain.

Colonial control

Control of the river was crucial to British strategy to capture New France in the Seven Years' War. Having captured Louisbourg in 1758, the British sailed up to Quebec the following year thanks to charts drawn up by James Cook. British troops were ferried via the St. Lawrence to attack the city from the west, which they successfully did at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The river was used again by the British to defeat the French siege of Quebec under the Chevalier de Lévis in 1760.

In 1809, the first steamboat to ply its trade on the St. Lawrence was built and operated by John Molson and associates, a scant two years after Fulton's steam-powered navigation of the Hudson River. The Accommodation with ten passengers made her maiden voyage from Montreal to Quebec City in 66 hours, for 30 of which she was at anchor. She had a keel of 75 feet, and a length overall of 85 feet. The cost of a ticket was eight dollars upstream, and nine dollars down. She had berths that year for twenty passengers.^[47] Within a decade, daily service was available in the hotly-contested Montreal-Quebec route.^[48]

Because of the virtually impassable Lachine Rapids, the St. Lawrence was once continuously navigable only as far as Montreal. Opened in 1825, the Lachine Canal was the first to allow ships to pass the rapids. An extensive system of canals and locks, known as the St. Lawrence Seaway, was officially opened on 26 June 1959 by Elizabeth II (representing Canada) and President Dwight D. Eisenhower (representing the United States). The Seaway (including the Welland Canal) now permits ocean-going vessels to pass all the way to Lake Superior.^[49]

Modern Canada

During the Second World War, the Battle of the St. Lawrence involved submarine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence, Strait of Belle Isle and Cabot Strait from May to October 1942, September 1943, and again in October and November 1944. During this time, German U-boats sank several merchant marine ships and three Canadian warships.

In the late 1970s, the river was the subject of a successful ecological campaign (called "Save the River"), originally responding to planned development by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The campaign was organized, among others, by Abbie Hoffman.^[50]

In popular culture

Grand canoe reception for the Prince of Wales on the St. Lawrence, 1860

• Gatien Lapointe, Ode au Saint-Laurent, Éditions du Jour, Montréal, 1963, Paradis, A. (1963), report, 3 pages.^[51]
• The river was the setting for the Canadian television drama series Seaway.
• It is the namesake of Saint-Laurent Herald.
• In 1980, Jacques Cousteau filmed Cries from the Deep and St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea.^[52]
• The 1993 Canadian animated short film The Mighty River was about the river.
• The novel and film Black Robe are set primarily on the St. Lawrence River during the 17th century.
• The 1941 children's book Paddle-to-the-Sea, and the film Paddle to the Sea, involve passage through the St. Lawrence River.

See also

• Rivers portal
• Geography portal
• Canada portal

• Gulf of St. Lawrence
• Estuary of St. Lawrence
• Lac Saint-Pierre
• Lachine Rapids
• RMS Empress of Ireland
• St. Lawrence Seaway
• NEPCO 140 Oil Spill
• Boldt Castle
• Container on barge
• Grindstone Island
• Jorstadt Castle
• Wellesley Island
• Maison Drouin
• List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem)
• List of longest rivers of Canada
• List of Quebec rivers
• List of Ontario rivers
• List of New York rivers
• List of crossings of the St. Lawrence River
• Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Flore laurentienne, a scientific inventory of vascular plant resources growing spontaneously in the St. Lawrence River valley

References

1. "St. Lawrence River and Seaway".
2. "St. Lawrence River".
3. "Rivers". Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
4. "St Lawrence-Great Lakes".
5. "The St. Lawrence".
6. "Physical oceanographic conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence during 2023".
7. Benke, Arthur C.; Cushing, Colbert E. (2005). Rivers of North America. Academic Press. pp. 989–990. ISBN 978-0-12-088253-3.
8. "Fleuve Saint-Laurent". Commission de toponymie Québec. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
9. Lozier, Jean-François (2018). Flesh Reborn: The Saint Lawrence Valley Mission Settlements through the Seventeenth Century. Montréal: McGill-Queens University Press. p. 306. ISBN 9780773553989. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
10. Doolittle, Benjamin (25 August 2016). "St. Lawrence (Upper river)". Kanienʼkéha Dictionary. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
11. Doolittle, Benjamin (25 August 2016). "St. Lawrence, USA & CA". Kanienʼkéha Dictionary. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
12. Rudes, B. Tuscarora English Dictionary Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999
13. Toussaint, Jean-Patrick. "Il était une fois un fleuve... et nous". Agence Science-Presse (in French). Retrieved 28 December 2021.
14. Cuoq, Jean André (1886). Lexique de la langue algonquine (in French). Montréal: J. Chapleau. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
15. "Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence". Gouvernement of Canada. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024. The area represents one of the largest and most productive estuarine/marine ecosystems in Canada and in the world.
16. Guy O'Bonsawin (3 April 2013). "The secrets of the Saint-Laurent, marine weather guide" (PDF) (in French). Environnement Canada. pp. 89, 90 of 100. Retrieved 15 October 2024. If you consider that both water and air masses literally hug the ground and follow all its contours and surfaces, it's easy to understand just how much variety there can be in wind and sea conditions.
17. Lake Champlain Basin Atlas: Geology Page Archived 20 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
18. Miller, William J. (2015). Geology: The Science of the Earth's Crust (Illustrations). P. F. Collier & Son Company. p. 37. GGKEY:Y3TD08H3RAT.
19. "St. Lawrence River Ecosystem". Save The River! Thousand Islands - Clayton NY on the St. Lawrence River. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
20. "Estuary - National Geographic Society". nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
21. Dawson, Samuel Edward (October 2007). The Saint Lawrence: Its Basin and Border-lands. Heritage Books. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7884-2252-2. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
22. Lac Saint-Pierre et son archipel Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Pleinairalacarte.com (2008-11-07). Retrieved 2013-07-12.
23. "Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U.S." U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
24. "Physiographic Regions of Canada" (PDF). Natural Resources Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
25. "Saint Lawrence River and Seaway". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
26. "Saint Lawrence". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
27. "The St. Lawrence, this great river that flows within us (David Suzuki Foundation)" (PDF). Wild nature in the heart of Quebec and America (in French). Fondation David Suzuki. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2024. ... colossal reserve of resources natural and landscape matrix grandiose, the St. Lawrence is first and above all a source of life, a life astonishing diversity
28. Frère Marie-Victorin (1935). "Flore laurentienne" (in French). florelaurentienne.com. Retrieved 1 September 2024. inventory of natural vascular plant resources valley of the great Saint Lawrence River - Quebec
29. "Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park". Government Quebec - Government of Canada. 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024. More than 2,200 species frequent these waters, including species at risk such as the beluga whale, the blue whale and the Barrow's goldeneye.
30. "International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP)". Earth Island Institute. 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024. We have achieved victories for marine mammals around the world and work to make the oceans safe for whales, dolphins and marine life.
31. Stéphane Plourde (7 November 2017). "Right Whales: A Look Back on the Summer of 2017". Gouvernement of Canada. InfoOceans - New wave. Retrieved 19 August 2024. The North Atlantic right whale is an endangered species - Over the coming months, the Government of Canada will meet with representatives of the fishing and shipping industries, Aboriginal communities, whale experts and scientists, as well as the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
32. "The Species of the St. Lawrence". Whales Online, magazine and encyclopedia. Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM). July 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024. The different species of seals and whales are all mammal species. © GREMM
33. COSEPAC (27 May 2021). "Béluga - Delphinapterus leucas" (PDF). Wildlife species; Biodiversity; Species at risk; beluga. p. 132. Retrieved 29 August 2024. We fear that the increase in maritime traffic, facilitated by climate change, is modifying the nature of the acoustic environment of the population. This population can correspond, or almost corresponds, to the criteria of the category "species threatened »
34. V. Lesage; M. C. S. Kingsley (1995). "Assessment of knowledge of the beluga population (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence" (PDF) (in English and French). Fisheries and Oceans Canada. p. 54. Retrieved 29 August 2024. The population of St. Lawrence belugas is relatively sedentary given that the most distant seasonal areas are not separated only by a few hundred kilometers
35. Marie-Sophie Giroux (2024). "A black whale in sight! Please call Marine Mammal Emergencies!". Retrieved 28 August 2024. Since 1998, several sightings of right whales have also been reported elsewhere in the St. Lawrence: Magdalen Islands, Baie des Chaleurs, Basse-Côte-Nord and the St. Lawrence estuary, in the Saguenay—St. Lawrence Marine Park.
36. "Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)" (PDF). Environment Canada - o Canadian Wildlife Service. Committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). 22 August 2003. Retrieved 29 August 2024. Today, the biggest threats for this species come from ship strikes, disturbance from increasing whale watch activity, entanglement in fishing gear, and pollution.
37. "Gespe'gewa'gi : Our District Territory". Mi’gmawei Mawiomi Secretariat. Mi’gmawei Mawio’mi. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
38. Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim Their Homeland, Douglas & McIntyre, December 1991, 240pp, by Marie Wadden, ISBN 978-1-55365-731-6, (book link) Archived 2013-01-21 at archive.today
39. "Territories". native-land.ca. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
40. "Carte du Nionwentsïo". Nation Huron-Wendat. Nation Huronne-Wendat. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
41. Jaenen, Cornelius J. "Murray Treaty of Longueuil (1760)". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
42. "Les Attikameks s'attaquent à l'indifférence de Québec". Le Devoir (in French). 9 September 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
43. "Les Atikamekw déclarent leur souveraineté". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). 8 September 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
44. Johnson, William Henry (20 May 2007). French Pathfinders in North America. Retrieved 27 February 2011 – via Project Gutenberg.
45. Bideaux, Michel (1986). Jacques Cartier: Relations (in French). Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal. pp. 130–131. Retrieved 20 November 2021 – via Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
46. The Spanish names Florida, Dry Tortugas, Cape Canaveral, Appalachian, and California appeared earlier.....From Spanish historian Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas's accounts, published in 1601 -- Stewart, George (1945). Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. New York: Random House. pp. 11–17, 29.
47. Kevin C Griffin (2013). "St Lawrence Saga: The Clarke Steamship Story - Before Clarke Steamship" (PDF). pp. 2 of 132. Retrieved 2 September 2024. The first steamship to operate on the St Lawrence River was John Molson's wooden paddle steamer Accommodation, built in Montreal in 1809.
48. Denison 1955, p. 91
49. "The St. Lawrence Seaway, a Vital Waterway". Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Seaway System. 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024. According to a special report compiled by BMO Capital Markets, the eight states and two provinces that border the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System generate an immense economic impact within North America.
50. "Save the River!". 1 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
51. Andrée Paradis (1963). "Ode to the St, Lawrence, poetry" (PDF) (in French). Editions du Jour, Montréal. Retrieved 12 September 2024. ..the River never took shape with so much truth in one of our poets.. Gatien Lapointe certainly wrote a very beautiful poem there you will have to listen to the song slowly.
52. Ohayon, Albert (2009). "When Cousteau Came to Canada". NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 25 October 2009.

Bibliography

• Creighton, Donald Grant (2002) [1937], The empire of the St. Lawrence: a study in commerce and politics (reprint), University of Toronto Press, ISBN 0-8020-8418-4
• Dawson, Samuel Edward (2003), The Saint Lawrence: Its Basin and Border-lands, Heritage Books, ISBN 0-7884-2252-9
• Denison, Merrill (1955). The Barley and the Stream: The Molson Story. McClelland & Stewart Limited.
• Ellis, William S. (May 1980). "Canada's Highway to the Sea". National Geographic. Vol. 157, no. 5. pp. 586–623. ISSN 0027-9358. OCLC 643483454.
• McNeese, Tim (2005), The St. Lawrence River, Chelsea House Publishers, ISBN 0791082458
• Parham, Claire Puccia (2009), The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project : an oral history of the greatest construction show on earth, Syracuse University, ISBN 978-0-8156-0913-1
• Stagg, Ronald (2010), The Golden Dream: A History of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Dundurn Press, ISBN 978-1-55002-887-4

External links

• Fur Trade Canoe Routes of Canada/Then and Now, 1969, Eric W. Morse, M.A.;F.R.G.S, 121 p.
• The Saint Lawrence Its Basin & Border-Lands, 1905, Dr. S. E. Dawson, 584 p.
• St. Lawrence Parks Commission (Ontario)
• Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System
• Radio Aids to Marine Navigation 2024, Radio Aids to Marine Navigation 2024, (Atlantic, St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Arctic and Pacific) Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 298 pages
• Safe Passage: Aids to Navigation on the St. Lawrence – Historical essay, illustrated with drawings and photographs
• Annotated Bibliography on St. Lawrence County and Northern New York region.
• International St. Lawrence River Board of Control Archived 23 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine
• Saint Lawrence River from The Canadian Encyclopedia Archived 21 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• St. Lawrence River Cam
• Watch the Jacques Cousteau documentary, St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea
• The Steamboats Sir James Kemp and Lord Dalhousie on the River St. Lawrence, Upper Canada in 1833 by D.J. Kennedy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania Archived 22 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine

[[Category:Rivers